Chapter 2

I turned and slipped into the academic building, feeling wonderful.

I met Adrian in a game during my sophomore year.

That day, he personally came online to test a new dungeon, accidentally stole my boss, and then kicked me from the party.

I bought ninety-nine world-channel announcements and posted a bounty on him, swearing revenge for the stolen monster.

He replied with one line: If you’re bad, practice more.

From that day on, we cursed each other for three full years.

But no one knew.

Every time we finished fighting, I would send him a long review several hundred words long.

Drop rates were fake.

Mechanics were terrible.

The beginner guide was a complete disaster.

He always replied with only two words: brain dead.

But in the next patch, every single issue I brought up would be quietly fixed.

Even my casual complaint that “the respawn point is so far from the boss I want to uninstall” resulted in the point being moved three hundred meters closer.

So I reached one conclusion: deep down, this man looked down on me.

Three years passed. I was now a senior, and I never expected to meet him in person this way before graduation.

Chloe wore the name TiraMissU and waved it in front of Adrian for a whole week.

In the class group chat, people teased her every day, and she would occasionally post vague screenshots.

Chloe: Adrian said I’m the most special person he’s met in three years.

Chloe: He said my gaming skill is good, my mouth is sharp, and out of the whole server, he only respects me.

I looked at those screenshots with no expression.

The most special person?

That was true.

In three years, the person he cursed the hardest was me. I was also the only person stubborn enough to fight him for three whole years.

But I knew Adrian had never eaten a single meal with Chloe.

Every invitation from her had been blocked with, “I’ve been busy lately.”

Even the “private chats” she bragged about, I verified in-game myself.

That night, I logged in as usual to attack him verbally. Adrian responded immediately, his energy so intense I could almost feel it through the screen.

Later that night, Chloe came back to the dorm.

She threw her bag onto the bed, stared at me for a long time, then suddenly leaned closer.

“Stella, teach me how to play this game.”

“I’m playing with Adrian this week. If I’m too bad, he’ll figure it out.”

I leaned back in my chair.

“No.”

“You stole my account, went around as TiraMissU, and now you want me to help you maintain the lie?”

Chloe’s face changed.

“It’s just a few games. What’s the big deal? I’ll pay you for boosting.”

I immediately held up three fingers.

“Three thousand. No bargaining.”

Chloe gritted her teeth and stared at me for a long while. In the end, she transferred me three thousand dollars.

I instantly smiled and accepted the payment.

But Chloe did not leave.

She stood there watching me, the smile fading from her face.

“One more thing. I’m changing the game account password. From now on, I’ll manage it.”

“When I need you to play, I’ll send you the new password. When you’re done, log out.”

Her tone was light.

“I need the account in my hands to feel safe. What if you suddenly get itchy fingers and add Adrian as a friend?”

I lowered my head. My voice was flat.

“Fine.”

Chloe looked satisfied. When she reached the door, she turned back and added one more warning.

“Let me say this first.”

“If you dare tell anyone about the boosting, I’ll tell the whole department that you deliberately got close to Adrian and stole my boyfriend.”

“When that happens, let’s see who everyone believes—the pretty girl or the dull little nobody.”

I laughed once.

Boyfriend?

Adrian probably wanted to cut me down with a sword.

Still, I was not losing anything.

At least I had earned three thousand dollars.